


Please Don't Go

by Yadirocks



Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-27
Updated: 2014-05-27
Packaged: 2018-01-26 17:12:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1696067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yadirocks/pseuds/Yadirocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Story takes place after Pujols left the Cardinals.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Please Don't Go

**Author's Note:**

> Just thought I'd post a little short story I made about Yadi and Albert Pujols' friendship. I wrote this story about seven months ago, and I thought people would like it, so...here you go!

"Come on! How can I get one past you if you know where I'm going to throw the ball every single time?" Chris Carpenter yelled from the mound. 

Yadier Molina shrugged and got back into his catcher's position, smiling at Chris. "CC, I can block your pitches blindfolded."

Carp smirked, "Okay, let's see."

Yadi frowned. "It's a figure of speech."

"Are you chicken? Wow, the great Yadier Molina is too afraid to block a pitch blindfolded...what will the media say?"

The catcher sighed, knowing that Chris had won this argument. "Fine, if you can get me a blindfold, I'll do it."

Chris skipped to the dugout, rummaging around for a minute before his eyes lit up as he found what he was searching for. He came back out carrying a bandanna. Yadi eyed him suspiciously. "You just so happened to bring a bandanna with you?"

Carp shrugged, "It was Wild West Night last night when we went to that club I was telling you about earlier. They were handing out free bandannas, so yes, I took one."

Molina rolled his eyes, and Chris handed him the cloth. "Let's see what the best defensive catcher in baseball can do blindfolded."

Yadi missed the first couple of pitches, to Chris's satisfaction, but then he started to get the hang of it and began to block the pitches as good blindfolded as he did when he could see. Carpenter threw one really hard, hoping to get it past Yadi. The catcher blocked it, of course, but it hit his hand. He shouted, "Geez, CC, what are you trying to do, kill me?"

Chris laughed, "No, but if you come out with a bruise, at least I can say that I put a dent in you."

Yadi smiled and pointed in the direction Chris's voice came from. "You haven't put a dent in me, but if I were you, I'd save those 98-100 mile-per-hour fastballs for the game, not trying to bang up your catcher when he's blindfolded and can still block your pitches."

"Show-off!"

Yadi gasped when a new voice joined in. He struggled with his catcher's mask, finally flipping it off and pulling down the bandanna so he could see. He looked around for the person he thought the voice had come from, but sighed when he didn't see him anywhere. In fact...Chris wasn't anywhere to be seen either. 

"CC?" he asked, looking around. Nothing...absolute silence. He did a 360, but still saw no one. He put his right hand on his hip. "Chris, come on, this isn't funny. Where are you?"

Even the traffic outside of the stadium had quieted down as he said this. A loud noise came from the dugout, and Yadi took a small step towards it. "Chris?"

Slowly, he made his way over to the dugout, taking a step down so he could see the inside. Molina was about to give up when someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder, effectively making him jump about five feet in the air. When he saw who it was, though, he shouted, "I knew it!"

Albert Pujols smiled at him. "Did you miss me?"

Yadi looked up, as if he was thinking about it. "Well, no, I didn't miss the guy I consider a brother, even though he moved about halfway across the country." He laughed, "Of course I missed you, hermano!" (Hermano-Spanish for 'brother')

They embraced, and Albert chuckled and said sarcastically, "Well, I guess I missed you, too."

Yadi pulled away and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "You better have missed me. All of those hours working in the batting cages had to mean something!"

Albert grinned, "Yeah, I miss those practices."

He sighed, looking around at the big stadium, as if seeing Busch for the first time. "I miss everything about the Cardinals."

Yadi put a hand on his shoulder. "The Cardinals have missed everything about you. Well, maybe not Chris."

Suddenly, Yadi heard Chris shout, "He's lying, Al!"

They both laughed as Carpenter came flying from the dugout, bending over and putting his hands on his knees when reached them, as if he were out of breath. Albert laughed, "Looks like someone's out of shape."

Carpenter gave him a fake glare. "Looks like someone could use a shave," he came back with, pointing at the stubble on Pujols' chin. "Or has that always been there? I've haven't really looked at you in the past year..."

Albert shrugged, "You're probably right, it's about time for me to shave. I didn't come here just for you to tell me that, though."

Chris crossed his arms over his chest. "Then why'd you come here, El Hombre?" (El Hombre was Pujols' old nickname)

Pujols smiled. "Can't a guy just come and say hello to some of his old friends and teammates?"

Yadi acted like he was disappointed. "That's why you came? I thought CC had a good case going about you needing to shave!"

He had missed this...just being able to talk with Albert again. It was like talking with his best friend and his brother at the same time. Sure, he really loved his brothers, Bengie and Jose, but he felt like Albert was his real brother. He didn't take things too seriously, but when he needed to be serious, he was. He could joke around and was probably a professional at telling stories, and then when it had been time to get up and give everyone a little motivational speech in the locker room, Pujols would be the one to do that. It had been Albert who had helped Yadi find a better batting stance a faster swing so he wasn't just barely lifting the ball over the infielder's head. 

Albert seemed to notice that he was thinking about the past because he looked at Yadi and said, "Let's take a walk."

They started walking around the outfield wall, just enjoying each others' company, even if it was only for a while. 

"How are things going over there in Anaheim? Do you like playing with Mike Trout?"

Albert laughed, "You sound exactly like a reporter."

Yadi looked down, completely serious now. "You're going to give me an honest answer, though, right?"

His friend looked around the field like he had earlier, taking it all in. "The Angels are a fun team, and Mike is an awesome guy...but I really miss playing here."

It was silent as they tried to think of what to say. Finally, Yadi, his voice hardly above a whisper, asked, "Do you ever regret leaving?"

A nod. "All the time."

"Then why did you leave?" It had been a question Yadi had been asking a lot lately: why? Why did everything seem different now? Why did it feel as if his best friend in the entire world would rather be anywhere else than in this spot right now? Why was it so silent after he asked this question?

After a long silence, Albert stopped. "I left because I wasn't the player I was." 

He met Yadi's eyes before saying, "I knew that if I didn't leave, people would later on regret me staying. I'd rather live with the regret of leaving than have everyone else live with the regret of having me stay."

Another silence built between them, before Yadi finally broke it. "I wouldn't have regretted you staying."

They made eye contact for a moment, but Molina looked away quickly. Albert sighed. "I know you wouldn't have. If there's anything I miss, it's seeing my hermano nearly everyday."

"Yeah. I miss that too."

"You understand why I had to leave now, right?"

He wanted so badly to say no, to tell him he didn't understand why he couldn't have stayed. The Cardinals' fans loved the team, they would've eventually forgiven Pujols if his play suddenly slumped, like they did with every player. The players never let somebody down when they were having a rough time at the plate or on the field. There were coaches and trainers and managers that could help fix a bad swing or a weak glove. Instead of telling Pujols this, he just nodded. "Yeah. I get it now."

Albert smiled, hugging him one last time before he said, "I should probably get going. We have a game in Chicago in two hours."

Yadi watched him leave, not taking his eyes off of the gate his best friend in the entire world had just walked out of, even after Albert had left. It was like watching his brother walk out of his life...again. Which, basically, it was.

A lone tear fell down his face as he whispered, "I understand. I just don't understand why you had to leave like you did."

He stood there for about five more minutes before finally trudging back to the dugout. David Freese come out of the locker room. He frowned when he saw the sad expression that Yadi wore. "Why the long face?"

Yadi took a shaky breath before he smiled. "I just got to see someone I never thought would come back."


End file.
